Okay so I am extremely frustrated here, and I figured I would turn to you fine folks on what to do.

The story is long, but I have to tell it to let you know how we got here. I am hoping that after reading, I’ll get the help I need. So my boyfriend Aaron and I have been together for 4 years. It’s been wonderful. From the moment we met at my best friends wedding, we’ve been inseparable. He gets me in a way that no one else seems to. He listens to me when I’m sad, we both share an extreme love for video games, and both of us have had…not the greatest of childhoods (more on that later). We have a deep emotional bond that goes beyond anything physical. I truly believe he is my soulmate.

So when Aaron approached me six months ago with the prospect of moving in together, of course I said yes! Both of our leases end at the same time, and between my crummy apartment and his terrible landlord, the answer was crystal clear. He pretty much was sleeping at my apartment every weekend so the transition flowed seamlessly. It’s been my most favorite place to call home. Aaron says the same. So much so in fact that I wouldn’t be surprised if he proposes to me in a year or so.

And the thing is, if he does, I don’t know if I can say yes right now. There’s this little nagging issue that comes up that Aaron likes to pretend isnt a big deal.

His father has been living with us for two months now. And he’s the worst.

So before I get into why my possible-future-father- in-law is godawful, let me give some background.

Aaron and I both come from abusive households. His father was a raging psycho who had an inferiority complex. Aarons mother—-God rest her soul—-was a nurse who made a pretty decent amount of money. His father worked at a steel plant when Aaron was born, but when Aaron turned 13 it closed down. His father didn’t have any sort of degree, and was working mainly as a mechanic on and off at a local dealership. They paid him pennies pretty much, leaving Aaron’s mom to work extra to pick up the slack. Aaron’s dad hated how that robbed him of his precious manhood, and would drink himself silly to the point where he became violent. His mother, under stress, suffered a heart attack when Aaron was 17 and passed away, leaving Aaron in the slippery clutches of his dad. Aaron said he stayed at home until he graduated high school, but as soon as the diploma was in his hands, he high tailed it out of state and pretty much said goodbye to his house of torment.

Which is why it baffled me when one day, out of the blue, this old man showed up to our townhouse asking to speak to Aaron.

I was out in the front tending to my small flower garden, when I felt this presence behind me. This large, unkempt man blocked the sun from beaming down, his crystal blue eyes peering into mine. He didn’t have to say who he was—-those eyes were the same as Aaron’s. Understandably, Aaron did not keep any picture of his dad, so I had never seen the guy. But the goosebumps on the back of my neck spoke of who he was before his lips did.

“‘Scuse me,” he bellowed, his voice sounding overworked and old, “Does Aaron Lee live here?”

I couldn’t even answer him properly at first. His presence was so intimidating. His piercing eyes barely blinked as he looked through me, and it honestly made sweat pool around the back of my neck. But as I remembered all of the stories Aaron had told me about his dad, assuming this was him, my protective girlfriend mode kicked in, ceasing my anxiety. “May I ask who you are? I don’t feel comfortable saying who lives here without knowing.”

He let out a deep breath, one that made me shiver, but his facial expression remained as plastic as it did when he approached me. “I’m his old man. Names Andrew. Now is he here or not? I need to speak to him.” He crossed his arms as those beady icy eyes bore down into mine, a look of finality crossing over his features.

Christ, I remembered thinking, I can see why Aaron practically hates this jerk. Not letting him get the best of me, I stood up and turned to go inside, leaving him in front of the lawn. I wasn’t answering another question from this guy until I spoke with Aaron.

I found him in his game room, knee deep in a first person shooter. “Babe?” I approached cautiously, knowing the subject of his dad was a sensitive one. “There’s this guy out front that says he needs to speak with you? And I think you’ll want to get a look at him.”

Aaron’s eyes didn’t leave the monitor, and I waited for his attention as he took out a member of the opposing team. After screaming victory into his headphones, he finally turned to give me his full attention. “Sorry babe, what was that?”

“Guy. Out front. Says he’s here to see you. His name is Andrew.”

The look of curiosity that ran over Aaron’s features let me know that he probably thought the same thing I was thinking. He immediately stood up and slid past me, and it wasn’t long before I heard the alarm of our front door beep. Aaron was outside for a few minutes while I nosily stood to the side of the doorway. I was about to peek around the corner myself when Aaron waltzed back in, not a care in the world, and shut the door. He looked at me and shrugged. “Must’ve lost the nerve and left already.”

I couldn’t believe he left like that myself, but honestly I would be afraid to talk to my kid too if I was a shit stain like Aaron said his dad was. It was weird but whatever, I put the encounter out of my mind, thinking that was the last time I’d see Aaron’s haggardly old man.

That is until a few days later, he came back again. This time, I was pulling the car into our garage, carrying in a large amount of groceries. Aaron was at work this day, so it was just me and our two cats home. Right as I was putting in the security code to our garage door to go inside, Andrew popped up again. Same disheveled appearance, his eyes focused and beady. He scared me to be honest, as he stood at the section where our driveway and garage met.

“Is Aaron here?” He grumbled lowly, nearly causing me to drop a bag or two.

“Christ! You can’t pop up on people like that!” I sighed with heavy annoyance, balancing a bag on my hip. “Listen, I don’t know what to tell you. Last time you left right when Aaron came to the door, and that was your last chance. You blew it, and now I don’t know if I feel comfortable arranging a meeting with you two.”

His eyelids dropped, and for the first time I saw a small glimpse of remorse run across his facial features. It left as quickly as it came, though, and those pointed beady eyes were back on mine again. “Please,” he whispered, “Just let me inside. I just want to see my son. I have….I have to.”

I sighed again, but this time I could feel my sympathy taking over. After all, he was a mess, and he was Aaron’s father. Maybe he really did want to apologize after all. “You can’t come inside,” I bit, not trusting a stranger, “ But you can hang out on the porch. Aaron should be home in an hour, if you can wait that long. After that, it’s up to him what happens next.”

He nodded quickly, not bothering to say anything else, and exited the drive way. I hurriedly shut the garage door and went inside, looking over our security doorbell footage on my phone. Sure enough, there he was, sitting on our small stoop, arms propped on his knees, patiently waiting.

I put the groceries away and kept an eye on the footage. Andrew never moved, not even so much to scratch his head. An hour later and I heard the garage door open, minutes before Aaron found me in the living room and scooped me into a hug.

Baffled, I broke free and quizzed Aaron. “Hey, that Andrew guy is back. He’s waiting for you on our porch. Did you see him?”

Aaron rubbed his eyes with annoyance. “No, but it’s not like I was exactly paying attention. Today was rough and I had sights set on coming in.” He bit his lip in thought for a moment before saying, “I’m going to get a glass of water really quick, can you open the door and let him in? I’ll meet with him and see who he is and what he wants I guess.”

I found it odd that Aaron wanted to let him in so quickly, but he must know it’s his dad. Maybe Aaron always wanted an apology after all. Besides, whenever he was anxious, Aaron always needed a glass of water to calm his nerves. So nodding my head, I headed for our door and unlocked it. Andrew immediately turned around, his beady eyes hopeful.

“Alright, he agreed,” I said with a shrug, “So come on inside.”

The smile that illuminated his face could’ve lit up a whole block if he wanted it to, as he quickly stood. “Thank you for finally inviting me in. You’ve no idea what you’ve done for me.” He slid past me, bringing a cool breeze with him. I locked the door and moved past him, just in time to see Aaron making his way towards me.

“Well I guess I should leave you guys to it. I’ll bring some snacks for everyone.” Immediately feeling a heavy tension in the room, I walked past Aaron until he grabbed my arm lightly.

“Jessica,” his eyebrows turned downwards as he quizzically looked at me, “I thought you let him in?”

“I did. He’s literally right behind me.” I turned around and pointed in the direction of the doorway, my accusatory digit targeted at the dingy man in the doorway.

“Babe, are you okay? There’s no one there.”

I was certain that Aaron was gaslighting me, because he and I were looking in the same direction and I was very clearly looking at Andrew. “That’s not funny Aaron. I know it might be weird seeing your dad, but there’s no need to make me seem crazy.”

Aaron’s face went frigid and displayed emotion that I’ve never seen before. It honestly made my blood run cold, with how dark it had gotten. “Jessica, I don’t know why you are carrying on this charade, but there is no one there. You and I are the only people in this house.”

Now I was getting angry, and baffled that Aaron was still denying a very true fact. “Your father is right there, Aaron! How can you not—-“

“That’s impossible, Jessica!” Aaron’s eyes widened with fury, and I could see tears brimming on the bottom. “Look, I never wanted to bring this up, but….I saw my dad die, Jess. He took his life right in front of me. He couldn’t fathom that I left him, so he came to my apartment to apologize when I first moved in. We got into this big fight and I said some things that he needed to hear. But I was also very angry and hurtful, I’ll admit.he didn’t respond,” Aaron looked away, his voice lowering, “Just took his pistol from his holster and…yeah…”

Aaron’s voice drowned out and soon I could only hear my heart beating. I slowly turned back towards the doorway, and sure enough Andrew was still there. Except his head lowered, those beady eyes opened unnaturally wide, his eyebrows folded angrily down as they kissed his eyelashes. His mouth spread into the largest grin, his yellowed decaying teeth taunting me. He smiled so wide I could see the cracks in his skin from the tight pull.

Immediately I knew that I had made a grave, grave mistake.

From that moment on, everything changed. Aaron is so quiet with me now, silently angry at me for pulling a prank, as he called it. It’s been a month, and most days our house is filled with the hum of the tv or the cats. But Aaron barely gives me the deep convos I love so much. But that isn’t even the worse part.

Ever since I let—-that thing in—- it never stops smiling. That cruel, evil wicked smile is always pointing in my direction, everywhere I go. Aaron can’t see it and doesn’t believe me when I try to tell him, so I am left to cower under its presence myself. The cats get a feeling that something is there, because everytkme Aaron comes in a room the scurry away. They used to be his lap cats and could barely leave him alone, but now they can’t stand to be near him for too long. Aaron of course is also very upset about that. But Aaron also can’t see that everyday, it moves closer and closer to him. At first it kept its distance. For example, if Aaron was in the kitchen, it’d be in the living room. If he was in the shower, it’d be in the hallway. But now, it’s standing so very still right behind Aaron. If Aaron could see it, he would probably feel its breath on its neck. Now it’s been whispering “Almost son,” nearly every hour, still staring at me whenever I come in the room. It makes me want to vomit.

I don’t know what to do. I need this presence gone. Whether it’s Andrew or not, I can’t help but feel like if I don’t get it out before it touches Aaron, then something really bad will happen.

Can someone give me advise, please?? I am so desperate and I feel crazy. I genuinely am afraid and at my wits end.